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Sumatran Rat-Monkey
Sumatran Rat-Monkeys are a species of monkey/rat hybrid originating from Skull Island, better known as the indigenous home of King Kong, located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia at around 12°S 78°E. The species is not naturally evolved; instead, they were formed from the local tree monkeys forcing themselves upon a species of rats known for carrying a plague. This plague is likely the same as the one carried by the Sumatran Rat-Monkey themselves—known as the Rage Plague, which transforms its victims into a zombie-like creature that is capable of physical mutation after prolonged infection. Background history thumb|left|The 1933 specimen was caged aboard the SS Venture. The Sumatran Rat-Monkey was discovered by 1933, when a film crew aboard the SS Venture shipwreck on Skull Island. At least one of the creatures was captured during this time, although it seemingly bit at least one person on the team, presumably leading to their death. Whatever became of this specimen is unknown. The species was thought to have been wiped out in an island-wide extinction in 1948, fifteen years after the island's initial discovery. The island itself was believed to have been sunk into the ocean, presumably eradicating all species thereon, but it was rediscovered by 1957. In 1957, the explorer Stewart McAlden arrived on Skull Island for his own expedition, possibly as part of the same expedition that occurred in the same year that consisted of Vincent Denham and Jack Driscoll (who had been on-scene in 1933). They captured a second specimen but were stopped by the local natives whom demanded the creature be returned. The expedition attempted to escape instead to a waiting Jeep but McAlden was bitten and scratched by the creature, leading to the natives killing him to prevent his transformation. Despite this, the specimen is still successfully removed from the island and is shipped to the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand. thumb|250px|The Wellington specimen attacks Vera Cosgrove. This specimen would lead to a small outbreak of Rage in Wellington after Vera Cosgrove was bitten by it while attempting to snoop on her son Lionel on a date with a local Spanish girl named Paquita María Sánchez. Vera was quickly infested with the Rage and became a ravenous zombie, while the Sumatran Rat-Monkey was quickly put down. Lionel returned her home and tried to keep her locked up but she would come to escape and infect dozens of others. The infestation is soon after contained, however. In 1973 the island was again rediscovered upon being detected by LANDSAT. While the species was not been seen since 1957, it could be presumed to still exist on the island, since it is known to have survived the 1948 cataclysm. The species were known to have infested the tunnels beneath London, England by the year 2038, when the world has been invaded by demons. It is unknown if these originated from a further Skull Island expedition or if they were perhaps remnants of the original Rat-Monkey(s) removed from the island in 1933. Appearances *''Braindead'' (AKA Dead Alive) *''King Kong'' (2005) *''Hellgate: London'' Notes *In Peter Jackson's 2005 version of King Kong, the cargo hold of the ship contains a box reading Sumatran Rat Monkey—Beware the bite!, in reference to the eponymous animal. *The Sumatran Rat-Monkey appears in the tunnels in the 2007 PC game Hellgate: London, released by Electronic Arts. *This species is also a homage to the "giant rat of Sumatra", an animal mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire". In this story, Holmes briefly talks about one of his unpublished cases, involving a ship called the Matilda Briggs and the aforementioned rodent. The detective famously describes it as "a story for which the world is not yet prepared". Whether the rat is supposed to represent a real or fictional species is unknown, although some have speculated it refers to the real species generally referred to as the Giant Sunda Rat (Sundamys infraluteus), a rather large muroid which is known to inhabit Sumatra. Category:Creatures Category:King Kong Universe Category:Fictional Creatures Category:Movie Creatures Category:Mammals Category:Hybrids Category:Undeads Category:Carnivores Category:Sentient Beings Category:Non-sapient Beings Category:Very High Category:Characters Debuting in 1992 Category:Asian Creatures Category:Live Action Creatures Category:DD Category:Braindead Universe Category:Bipedal Creatures